Five key trends in the housing market

The future of housing

27 Mar 2017, Fanny Siltberg

On 23rd March, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce partnered up with property asset management experts Catella and UK real estate specialists Strutt and Parker to take a closer look at the future of housing. Apart from the already known shifts in the market, such as ever-increasing rents and a steady demand for housing in urban areas, Strutt and Parker’s research has identified five key trends to look out for in the UK’s housing market.

“Our creeping trends identify that single occupied households and alternative family households are growing, the younger generation is more open to the idea of renting and those moving into retirement are seeking more interactive environments. The impact of these trends inevitably means that in the future, the homes we plan, design, build and live in must be different,” Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker, comments.

“Lifestyle change remained the dominant motivation for moving, but in light of pension challenges and parents seeking to help their children onto the housing ladder, we were surprised to see that so few respondents ranked release of equity, pension top up and financial support for relatives as their reasons for moving home,” McMahon concludes.

1. LIVING ALONEThis is becoming more common. Of the 12% of respondents who stated they were currently single and planning to move in the next five years, 67% anticipated staying in a single-person household.

2. LONG-TERM RENTERSGeneration Y (those born between 1978 and 1995) are living in private rental for longer. Of those aged 18-29, 24% said that they would consider living in a professionally managed private rental unit.

3. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGYFuture housing types and location decisions are being altered by access to technology. Over 50% of the respondents who were intending to move listed broadband connectivity as important or very important in their motivations for moving, and nearly 40% listed mobile coverage.

4. THE CHANGING FAMILYAlternative family structures are becoming more common, with 12% of our respondents who intend to move anticipating living as ‘The Waltons’ (multiple generations under one roof), compared with 10% in our first survey in 2013.

5. RETAINING HOUSING EQUITYWhile one might expect to see a high percentage of baby boomers selling property to raise capital for pensions and their children’s housing needs, we found only 24% of those aged 40-59, and 15% of those aged 60 or older, rated financial support for children/relatives as important or very important when asked about motivations for moving, and 26% and 24% respectively for pension support/top-up.

The survey sample of over 2,600 respondents is a combination of Strutt & Parker registered buyers, sellers, tenants and lettings applicants from the past three years, and a balanced general UK population sample conducted by OnePoll. The respondents came from across the UK with a balanced gender split.